Affordable housing advocate Cushing N. Dolbeare died of cancer March 17 at age 78. Dolbeare founded the National Low Income Housing Coalition and served as NLIHC's executive director from 1977 to 1984 and again from 1993 to 1994. She remained active with NLIHC as a researcher, policy analyst, and board member until her death.

A "Celebration of Cushing" for members of the housing community is scheduled for Monday, May 2 at 6 p.m. at the Capital Hilton Hotel, 1001 16th Street NW, Washington, D.C. (Congressional and Senate Rooms).

Dolbeare was an expert on federal housing policy. She designed the methodology for and was the original author of Out of Reach, NLIHC's annual report on the gap between housing costs and wages of low-income people. She was also well-known for her work analyzing federal housing subsidies.

In 2002, Dolbeare received the Heinz Award for the Human Condition. She served on the Millennial Housing Commission and was a senior scholar at Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. At the time of her death, she was a member of the board of trustees of the Enterprise Foundation and of the boards of directors of the Housing Assistance Council, the Alliance for Healthy Homes, and the National Housing Conference.

Leading Affordable Housing Advocate Passes Away at 78, NLIHC
Cushing N. Dolbeare Dies at 78; Lifelong Fair Housing Crusader, The Washington Post
Cushing N. Dolbeare Endowment Campaign

Selected works by Cushing N. Dolbeare